


A Moment Frozen

by raendown



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 07:13:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16718791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raendown/pseuds/raendown
Summary: He really thought Madara would complain more about caring for him until the paralytic wore off.





	A Moment Frozen

“You know, this is probably the worst time for you not to be able to use that infamous speed of yours.” Madara glared at him almost accusingly and Tobirama returned the expression with an equally unimpressed one of his own.

“It’s not as if I deliberately allowed myself to be paralyzed.” Although, he admitted to himself silently, he definitely didn’t have to jump in front of those senbon. Sometimes his body just moved on its own. He was perfectly aware that Madara could have blocked the tiny projectiles himself with enough warning but that didn’t seem to matter to his stupid hindbrain. Sometimes he despised the fact that humans were such animals still reliant on their instincts.

“We’ll have to find shelter until it wears off and you can run on your own again. Unless – you don’t happen to have any markers close enough to reach for do you?”

Tobirama shook his head and Madara sighed, adding a tiny extra boost to his speed.

Shelter came in the form of an abandoned bear den where Tobirama found himself propped against a rock wall completely helpless. The only things he could move were his facial features, able to speak and look around as well as make expressions, but he was unable to control his limbs and even his neck would not turn when he tried. Half of his trained responses were telling him to panic but the other half of him was relaxed and languid, completely at ease knowing that Madara was there with him. How far he had fallen to feel so safe around a man he used to attack on sight.

After setting up a perimeter of traps and laying a strong genjutsu to disguise the entranceway Madara kicked some of the wood laying around on the floor in to a small pile and lit the whole thing on fire with a thin tongue of flame. It would always be impressive to see how easily he was able to wield his chakra with such fine control.

Then he came over and sat down against the wall, pulling Tobirama over sideways to rest against his chest. If Tobirama were anyone else looking in on the two of them he would have called this position snuggling and made snarky comments about keeping romance out of their missions. Since this was Madara and the two of them were rather infamous for never agreeing on anything, he figured there had to be some other explanation behind the move. Madara hated him. Madara would not cuddle him in an empty cave with no Hashirama there crying at them to get along better.

He was still trying to guess what angle the man was attempting to work when he felt a hand kneading at his shoulders, sending ripples of glorious sensation throughout his body. A moan escaped him but he couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed when it felt _so good_.

“What…” he tried to ask, the words getting lost in sensation just like the rest of his brain. Madara chuckled above his head.

“I thought maybe I could massage some feeling back in to your limbs. But it looks like you’re not numb, just paralyzed.”

“Mmm. Could have…told you that…”

“Yes, I suppose.” He didn’t sound like he was too upset that he’d been wrong. Mostly he just sounded amused, almost smug, but Tobirama didn’t really care as long as he kept up the massage.

Although it did occur to him to wonder _why_ he kept up the massage.

“Have you even encountered this paralytic before?” Madara asked, distracting his thoughts.

“A few times,” Tobirama murmured distractedly. “I studied it briefly when the Hoshigake clan first began producing it – from some sort of animal extract, as I understand it, though it isn’t a venom. It usually takes between eighteen and twenty-four hours to completely wear off.”

“Eighteen hours until you’ll be able to walk again!?”

“No, I said completely wear off. I should have be able to move my legs in about five hours, to walk in about eight.”

Madara gave a contemplative hum punctuated with a particularly firm dig against the knot of muscles just behind his right shoulder blade. Tobirama groaned low in appreciation.

“Seems it’s up to me to find dinner for us both then. And I suppose I’ll need to feed you.”

Flushing as he realized the same thing, Tobirama hurried to mutter, “I think I’ll survive without dinner for one night.”

“I won’t have your brother accusing me of not taking proper care of you when he hears about what happened,” Madara countered, still sounding much too amused with all of this.

“Why does he have to hear about it? I won’t say anything if you don’t.”

“Are you kidding?” Madara snickered and the puffs of breath ruffled the hair on top of Tobirama’s head. “We’re hiding in a cave and you’re cuddled in to my chest like a child. Everyone and their grandma is going to hear about this.”

Tobirama closed his eyes to hold his temper in. “Have I told you how much I despise you yet today?”

It wasn’t like there was anything he could really do right now but the second he had control of his own limbs, that was a whole different story. There were endless ways he could make this man’s life more difficult and he was already devising half a dozen different plans when something else touched the top of his head and halted all thought processes in their tracks.

“Did…you just kiss me?” he asked, breathless with disbelief.

“You don’t hate me,” Madara mumbled against the tip of one ear. “You would have had a lot more to say when I pulled you in to my chest if you hated me.”

“Son of a bitch.” It was a test. The stupid asshole had been testing the waters and Tobirama had fallen right in to the trap by keeping silent and waiting to see how things played out.

“Is that any way to talk to the man who has to keep you warm and safe while we sit in all alone in this very cold cave?”

He could see Madara shifting out of the corner of his eye, probably making some sort of dramatic gesture, but Tobirama was already rolling his eyes to hide a smile. So that was the angle. The excuse of huddling together for warmth never did get old, he supposed. And it _had_ worked on him just like it had for countless other romantically challenged suckers.

“You’re still not hand feeding me,” he said.

“That’s fine. I’m sure we can find other things to do while I nurse you back to health.”

“Ugh.”

His disgust did nothing to fool Madara, who lowered his arms to boldly wrap them around Tobirama’s middle and hold them closer together. Which was fine, really. If he were able to he would have snuggled farther back in to the warm embrace but getting paralyzed was apparently both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was having an opportunity to clear up certain misconceptions concerning the way they felt about each other.

And the curse was being forced to wait before he was able to turn around and get that kiss he’d been dreaming about in secret for too long now. Now that would have _really_ kept him warm.


End file.
